westpiialn



' (No Model.)

H. H. WESTPHALN.

CUTTER FOR WALL PAPER.

No. 552,267. Patented Dec. '31, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT Crnrcn.

HERMAN ll. YVESTPHALN, OF HINSDALE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO \VILLIAH EVERNDEN, OF SAME PLACE.

CUTTER FOR WALL-PAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,267, dated December 31, 1895.

Application filed January 8, 1894. Serial No. 496,101. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN H. WEsrPHALN, a'citizen of the United States, and a resident of llinsdale, in the county of Du Page and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cutters for lVall- Paper, 8m, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to cutters for removing the superfluous or blank marginal portions of wall paper, the invention being equally applicable to cutting selvages from cloth and for various analogous cutting operations upon paper and other goods of various kinds.

Among the primary objects of my invention are included that of producing a cutting implement which shall be simple, compact, strong and durable in its construction, accurate and reliable in its operation, and which can be readily manipulated, even by an un skilled person, so as to properlyperform its required work. A further primary object of my invention is to produce a wall-paper cutter which shall befree from all possibility of becoming clogged by the paste which is applied to the paper, the paste being removed from the cutters as fast as it adheres thereto.

The above-mentioned objects, together with such others as may appear from the ensuing description, are attained by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a paper-cutter embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is also a side elevation of the implement but viewed from the opposite side from that exposed in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the implement, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, the direction of view being that indicated by the arrows upon said section-line. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the implement, taken on the line 4 at of Fig. 2, the direction of View being that indicated by the arrows upon said section-line.

WVall-paper, as furnished to the trade, has at each of the sides of the paper a narrow blank strip or space which must. be out off before the paper is hung or pasted upon the wall or ceiling. As will be seen from the ensuing description, I have produced an implement by means of which even an inexperienced person can cutoff the blank margins as accurately and at the same time much more rapidly than they can be cut off with shears, even by a skilled and practiced paper-hanger.

Stated in a general way, a wall-paper cutter embodyin g my invention comprises structurally a frame-piece of such form as to provide a steady or stable and, at the same time, an easily-movable support. This frame-piece is provided with a suitable handle to be grasped by the user of the implement, and carries one or more revoluble cutters. The frame-piece is also provided with a suitable spring so arranged as to permit the cutters to be forcibly depressed into the paper to be cut, and said frame-piece also carries a block for scraping off paste from the cutter or cutters. As matters of structural detail, the revoluble cutter or cutters are mounted removably upon the frame-piece and are adjustable relative thereto, and the scraper-block is also adj ustable. Furthermore, a guide or straight-edge is provided to which the implement is mov-, ably connected in such manner as to be accurately guided in its work.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates a plate, preferably of metal, which constitutes the carrier or frame-piece or body portion of the implement. This plate is of sufficient size to properly support the operative parts of the implement, and is provided with a suitable handle 2, shown as eX- tending horizontally at one side of the plate and parallel with the upper edge thereof.

The handle 2 may obviously be secured to the plate 1 in any suitable manner; but, as a desirable form of construction, I have shown the handle as supported upon the upper ends of two bracket-arms 3, which may either be cast integrally with the ends of the plate 1, as shown, or attached thereto in any suitable or preferred manner; said bracket-arms, however, extending obliquely upward and outward from the plate.

The upper margin of the carrier or plate 1 is formed with a flange 4, which extends oppositely from the handle 2, and is in the form of two segments extending longitudinally of r V nl the plate, convex sides downward. At their outer ends the segmental flanges 4: are united to two vertical bosses 5, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained, while between the inner or adjacent ends of the segments 4 is interposed a third vertical boss 6, formed integrally with the plate 1 and for a purpose also to be hereinafter explained.

7 designates two revoluble disk-shaped cutters, which are placed side by side adjacent to that surface of the carrier or plate 1 which is remote from the handle 2 each of said cutterdisks having a beveled and sharpened outer margin and each being placed directlybeneath one of the flange-segments 4. These cutterdisks are each mounted to turn upon one of two horizontal arbors 8, which extend transversely through the carrier or plate 1, and through bosses 9,formed on the latter at that side thereof which is proximate to thehandle 2. Each arbor is formed at one end with a flat enlargement or head 10, which is countersunk into the center of the corresponding cutter-disk, so as to be flush with the outer surface of the disk. Each arbor 8 is also preferably formed adjacent to its headed end with a cylindrical enlargement 11,wl1ich constitutes the spindle proper for the cuttendisk.

The opposite end of each arbor 8 is externally screw-threaded, as at 12, and upon said threaded end is screwed a retaining-nut 13, the outer surface of which maybe of polygonal form to receive awreneh, or the outer end of which may be nicked to receive a screwdriver, or which may be both polygonal and nicked, as shown, so as to be turned in one or the opposite direction for attachment to and removal from the arbor. The arrangement is such that the arbors 8 are readily removable, so as to permit the disk-cutters 7 to be removed for sharpening and other purposes, and I desire it to be understood that my invention contemplates various means for detachably connecting the disk-cutters to the plate 1.

14 designates a scraper which is interposed between the two cutter-disks and which is carried at the lower end of a stem 15 extending vertically upward loosely through the boss 6, the upper part of said stem 15 being externally screw-threaded to receive an adj ustingnut 16, which impinges upon a spring-bar 18, to be hereinafter fully described, an d the lower part of the stem being surrounded by a depression-spring 17. The scraper 14: is shown as formed of two sections, each of substantially triangular form, arranged horizontally one above another, the apex of one section being presented toward the plate 1 and the apex of the other section being presented away from said plate. The arrangement is such that at each end of the scraper is located a V-shaped notch, the sides of which embrace the cutting-edge of one of the cutter-disks 7. The spring 17 tends to depress the scraper 14 into forcible contact with the edges of the cutter-disks 7, and the force of such contact is regulated as desired by the adjusting-nut 16, which raises the stem 15 and scraper 14, as desired.

In using this cutter the intention is to apply the implement to the paper, either before or after applying the paste thereto, and to move the implement along longitudinally so that the disks 7 shall cut the paper precisely at the point of juncture of the blank marginal portion with the body of the paper.

In utilizing a plurality of cutters it will be evident that should the first cutter serve only to partially sever the material operated upon the additional cutter will act to complete the work and thus render the device more effect ive and reliable.

In order to insure a perfectly straight and uniform cut, I provide a guiding straightedge in engagement with which slides a rib or guide-bar forming a part of the implement.

18 designates the straight-edged guidingbar, which may be of any suitable or desirable material and length, and which is shown as provided at one side with a straight lon gitudinal T-groove 22.

2O designates the guide-bar of the implement, this bar extending horizontally across the lower parts of the cutter-disks 7 and being connected at its ends to the lower ends of two adj ustin g-screws These screws 23 extend loosely upward through the two bosses 5 above referred to and are externally screw-threaded to receive adjusting-nuts 24. At their lower parts the adjusting-nuts 2% are formed with circumferential grooves 25, (one for each nut, and into said grooves enter the bifurcated ends of the spring-bar 18 above referred to. This spring-bar is secured midway of its length upon the middle boss 6 of the plate 1, and extends longitudinally with relation to the plate 1, the adjusting-nuts 24: being free to be turned upon theends of the spring-bar.

The guide-barflO of the implement is shown as formed with lateral flanges 21, 1 located either in opposite pairs at the ends only of the guide-bar, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, or each extending throughout the length of said guide-bar, as shown in dotted lines in said figure. In either instance the flanges fill the transverse portion. of the guidegroove and prevent the guide-bar 20 from coming out of the groove, excepting at the ends thereof, and consequently insuring an accurately-straight movement of the cutter as a whole. Obviously a T-shaped flange may be formed on the edge of the guide-bar 18 and a T-groove in the outer side of the guidebar 20 without departii'ig from the essential spirit of my invention.

When the implement is in use, pressure applied downward upon the handle 2 will bend the ends of the spring-bar 18 downward and permit the carrier or plate 1 and disks 7 to be correspondingly moved downward, the edges of the disks being thus forced through the paper.

It is obvious that one or any greater numher of cutter-disks may be employed and that various changes in minor details of construction may be adopted Without departing from the essential principles of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An implement for cutting wall paper, &c., comprising a carrier or plate, having a flange at its upper edge, the central and end bosses, the guide-bar, the screws carried thereby and extending through the end bosses, the adjusting nuts carried by said screws, the spring supported upon the central boss and engaging the adjusting nuts, and the cutter or cutters journaled upon the carrier or plate, substantially as shown and described.

2. An implement for cutting wall paper, &c., comprising a carrier or plate having a flange at its upper edge, the cutter or cutters mounted upon said carrier, and a scraper adapted to engage the edges of the cutter or cutters, said scraper consisting essentially of two triangular plates overlapping each other, substantially as shown and described.

3. An implement for cutting wall paper, 850., comprising a plate or carrier, having a flange formed with the central and end bosses, the revoluble cutter or cutters mounted upon said carrier or plate beneath the flange, the adj ustable scraper supported upon a bolt secured in the central boss, the guidebar, the screws carried thereby, and passing through the end bosses, the adjusting nuts, the spring supported upon the central boss and engaging the adjusting nut, and the handle connected with the carrier or plate, substantially as described.

4. An implement for cutting wall paper, &c., comprising a carrier or plate and handle, the flange and end bosses, the revoluble cutter or cutters, the guide-bar, carrying the screws, passing through the end bosses, adjustin g nuts and springs engaging the same, and the straight edge in which the guide-bar slides, substantially as shown and described.

HERMAN I-I. \VESTPHALN.

Witnesses: J NO. L. OoNDRoE, M. E. SHIELDS. 

